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Thai'ing one on

With June beginning next week, it's officially summer blockbuster time. "Bridesmaids", "Thor", "Pirates 4"... it has begun. With 2009's "The Hangover" such a success, it makes sense that Warner Brothers will be looking to cash in on that one again. Regretful men trying to pick through the sordid details of last night's drug-fueled, alcoholic, bachelor party shenanigans? What's not to like, right? Yep, "The Hanover Part II" was pretty much begging to be made. But that's the thing about begging: you shouldn't always listen.

Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha... the Wolfpack is back, as the marquee posters gleefully declare, this time plus one and assembled at a resort in Thailand for Stu's (Mr. Helms) wedding. Stu is understandably terrified of the prospect of a bachelor party. And why shouldn't he be? The last one didn't turn out so well, after all. Yet, two nights before the ceremony, he does agree to have one beer (sealed - no roofies here, nope) on the beach with the guys before turning in... Three of them wake up the next morning in a seedy Bangkok hotel - miles from where they started - and it's deja vu all over again.

It's a matter of simple arithmetic. Take "The Hangover". Subtract the baby, add a monkey. Subtract the missing tooth, add a missing finger. Subtract the missing groom, add a missing future brother-in-law. You get the picture. Move it to Thailand. Search and replace. Repeat! Look ma, I wrote a screenplay!

Interestingly, neither Jon Lucas nor Scott Moore - who wrote the original - had any part in writing the sequel. And why should they? They already did it. There's no challenge in writing the same thing twice. Instead, Scott Armstrong ("Old School"), Craig Mazin (Scary Movies 3 and 4) and the director himself get this honor. It's honestly amazing that it took three of them to come up with something so unoriginal.

It's the same movie. There are a few moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity, and quite an impressive chase scene, but many more moments are uncomfortable and even cringe-worthy. It's so inconsistent that not even the scene-stealing Mr. Galifianakis is able to redeem this one - try as he might. Much like the last, this film is sprinkled with cameos, but here they fall flat. Paul Giamatti is given almost nothing to work with. Even Mike Tyson's contribution feels like an afterthought.

Consider, for a moment, summer blockbuster season as a party circuit, with the major studios all fashionable socialites. Warner Brothers must be dying of shame. She wore the exact same dress two years ago. Not something similar, but the same thing. With different accessories. Did she think we wouldn't notice? True, we'll all clamor around her anyway, but she should at least make an effort. Tsk. Such a disappointment.